09-26



|[pic] | |

|Department of Human Resources | |

|311 West Saratoga Street |FIA ACTION TRANSMITTAL |

|Baltimore MD 21201 | |

| |Effective Date: March 1, 2009 |

|Control Number: 09-26 | |

| |Issuance Date: February 6, 2009 |

TO: DIRECTORS, LOCAL DEPARTMENTS OF SOCIAL SERVICES

DEPUTY/ASSISTANT DIRECTORS FOR FAMILY INVESTMENT

FAMILY INVESTMENT SUPERVISOR AND ELIGIBILITY STAFF

FROM: KEVIN M. MCGUIRE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FAMILY INVESTMENT ADMINISTRATION

JOSEPH A. JACKINS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (CSEA)

RE: THE WORK NUMBER

PROGRAM AFFECTED: TEMPORARY CASH ASSISTANCE (TCA), FOOD SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM (FSP), CHILD SUPPORT (CS)

ORIGINATING OFFICE: OFFICE OF PROGRAMS

Summary:

Recently, FIA and CSEA entered into an agreement with the TALX Corporation to pay the fee for eXpress Service for a three month trial and evaluation period. During this trial period, verification of employment through The Work Number will be immediate and you will be able to search based on a customer’s social security number.

The TALX Corporation operates The Work Number employment verification service that most case managers are familiar with. The TALX Corporation has an agreement with 1,850 employers, including many federal agencies, Target and Wal-Mart. Most of our employed customers are working for a company associated with the TALX Corporation.

Currently, case managers enter in the employer name of a customer who has reported working and the system provides basic employment information that is faxed to them within five days. The free standard service does not allow case managers to complete an employment search based on the social security number.

During this three month period, FIA and CSEA will determine the cost effectiveness of using the service and determine whether to continue. If at the end of the three month evaluation period the expanded service is determined not to be cost effective, the expanded service will end but case managers can continue to use the free service.

Please remember the information that is available via The Work Number service is protected under State and Federal privacy laws. Access is granted for and information may only be used to determine eligibility for DHR and DHR related programs.

Action Required:

Beginning March 1, 2009, case managers will be able to complete a social security number search for each customer. When the customer is employed with one of the employers associated with the TALX Corporation, the information will be available to the case manager immediately. The TALX Corporation agreement requires that employers report information to the TALX Corporation weekly, so the information available to local departments is current information.

The system will display:

1. Current and previous employers,

2. A pay date summary showing the last pay date for each employer,

3. Current pay rate and hours worked per pay period,

4. Employment start date,

5. Up to three years of income broken out by pay period, and;

6. Some employers list employee benefits received such as medical and dental as part of their verification.

Verification and Interim Changes (FIA/WORKS):

Information obtained from The Work Number is considered primary verification. You may use the information obtained for both program and WORKS activity and employment verification. Print a copy of the verification for the case record.

When entering information into CARES on the ERN1 screen remember to follow each program’s policy for interim changes for determining what month/s to add the information.

WORKS:

• On an open case, add the activity and hours as unsubsidized employment (WEJ) for the period.

• Add the activity and hours to WORKS on a case that is now closed in CARES, but was open in CARES for the period the person was employed.

• Add the activity and the hours in WORKS when the TCA case is closed in CARES and the customer deregistered in WORKS, but the case was active in CARES for the period of time the customer was employed.

Contact Person:

All local departments, local health departments, Child Support Enforcement offices and central offices approved for access to The Work Number eXpress Service must assign a contact person to assist staff in registering for the service, changing information or deleting individuals.

During this mass registration process, the contact person should be the person to receive the registration forms, ensure they are correct (make corrections if needed), batch and forward them to Myra Washington in the Bureau of Work Programs. The contact person is also the individual that users would go to for any difficulties they might experience with the system. The contact person can contact the TALX Corporation staff members, Ian Hilton at ihilton@ or 314-214-7362 or Michael Hubbell at Michael.Hubbell@. The TALX Corporation staff can not respond to individual user calls or e-mails.

Registration and Deregistration:

There is one form used to register, deregister or change individuals in The Work Number system. Attached to this AT is a sample copy of the form for review. The contact person is responsible for submitting the form when required. The form is available on The Work Number website at . It can be downloaded and completed and e-mailed to the corporation by the contact person.

All users must be registered in the system and have an assigned User ID. Individuals who are already registered in the free Work Number service are not automatically registered in the eXpress Service and must complete the registration process. In addition to the registration process, it is extremely important that when someone leaves their position that they be deregistered in The Work Number system.

Complete the form to add, delete or change information for a user in The Work Number eXpress Service. During this initial process, complete a form or forms including all users in the jurisdiction.

1. At the top of the form, enter the date the form is being completed.

2. Enter the Agency name and the unit-example FIA/Quality Control

3. Enter the County Name

4. Enter the City and State location: example SSC (Saratoga State Center)

5. Enter the contact person and the contact person’s phone number

Complete the section entitled The Work NUMBER AUTHORIZED USERS –eXpress Service as follows:

State member ID- Set up by The TALX Corporation

Authorized User ID- Set up by The TALX Corporation

Last Name: Users last name

First Name: Users First name

Current Fax Number: This is the Fax number the Agency uses

Example:all of QC uses 410-333-0597

E-mail address: User’s Agency e-mail address -mlorenzo@dhr.state.md.us

Please note that not all e-mail addresses are that simple. Some people with the same name or initials as another employee may have numbers after their name, for example: Betty Smith could be bsmith5@dhr.state.md.us

Program/Job Function: Enter Maryland - the division or unit - and the two or three numeric identifier your agency uses. Example: Maryland-QC-000. That means the individual works in Maryland for Quality Control at Saratoga State Center.

Action Code: (A) add (C) change or (D) delete.

To Access The Work Number Social Service Express Service:

1. Go to

2. Enter your local department fax number.

3. Enter your State Member ID and your Authorized User Number. (These numbers will be assigned by The TALX Corporation.)

4. Click “Continue”.

5. Select a Permissible Purpose.

6. Click “Continue”.

7. Enter the employee’s Social Security Number.

8. Click “Continue”.

9. Check the box in the “get verification” column next to the employer (s) you want information on.

10. Click “Submit”.

During the trial period, we are not charged for the number of verifications or “hits” we ask for. However, if we choose to continue the service, each time someone puts a check in the “get verification” field and requests the information, we will be charged for it.

For the program to be cost effective, information obtained from The Work Number must be shared as much as possible. If the Work program staff needs verification, they should follow up with the TCA case manager to see if the information has already been accessed. If there are different case records, the information must be in all the case records. Photocopy it; do not request multiple copies from The Work Number.

Developing a network during the evaluation period allows everyone to determine what the best method is for their local department or office to share Work Number information and reduce the cost of using The Work Number.

Use the scroll bar to move down the page to view verifications. You may print the verification for your file.

In addition to case manager access, prior to the end of the evaluation period, FIA and CSEA will run a batch file match for the entire caseload. The results will be provided to the respective local departments.

Child Support Enforcement Administration’s Standard Operating Procedures:

The Child Support Enforcement Administration (CSEA) will be issuing procedures and providing training for the local child support offices.

Inquiries:

Please direct TCA policy questions to Marilyn Lorenzo, TCA Program Manager, at 410-767-7333 or mlorenzo@dhr.state.md.us or to Gretchen Simpson, TCA Lead Program Analyst, at 410-767-7937 or gsimpson@dhr.state.md.us. Food Supplement Program questions should be directed to Rick McClendon at 410-767-7307 or mcclendon@dhr.state.md.us. CSEA policy questions should be directed to Victor Brundage, Program Manager/Trainer, at 410-767-7511 or vbrundag@dhr.state.md.us.

Attachments

cc: DHR Executive Staff FIA Management

Policy and Training Staff Constituent Services

DHR Help Desk Child Care Subsidy Staff, MSDE

DHMH-OEP

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